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First few trips including motorway, city, minor roads, farm tracks, unmade lanes, snow and ice! Collected my 23 plate XV SE Premium a few weeks ago and immediately treated it to a new set of Continental All Season Contact 2. First impressions? Road holding is superb in a variety of conditions. Living in very rural mid Wales, have been able to test on muddy roads, very wet roads, through some floods, we even had two days of snow up to about 3 inches on the roads, then rutted farm tracks with frozen snow and broken ice. So far, all I can say is wow. My old car was a battered 2013 4wd Duster with full mud and snow off road tyres and that could cope with most conditions admirably. However, the XV was happy in all conditions so far with no complaints, plus it's a heck of a lot more comfortable than the old war horse! I had read about the CVT taking a bit of getting used to, the adaptive cruise being a pain, the safety stuff being a bit too safe, the acceleration being poor, the engine noisy, the infotainment system being glitchy, the music system being poor as well as many other complaints (mainly from motoring journalists). All I can say is that my initial experience is this:- The CVT is pretty smooth and Subaru have done a good job of making it feel like a conventional auto. Adaptive cruise is extremely controllable, all the way to standstill and pulling away again. Safety is superb, love the little lights on the mirrors letting you know something is alongside, the fast flash when someone is coming up fast or a pedestrian is walking behind you in a car park. The front view camera is superb when parking, as is the rear parking assist camera. Acceleration is smooth and steady, not the quickest, but that doesn't bother me. I'm not trying to win the RAC. The engine noise is acceptable, certainly not excessive on acceleration. No glitches with the Infotainment system so far, got a decent USB cable and the set up is easy and quick, Android Auto works well, the built in navigation is quick and easy to update to current maps, system is easily customisable, intuitive and the touch screen easy to navigate. Google Voice commands work well. DAB is decent with seamless transitions between digital and FM, essential round here as signal is sketchy. How loud do motoring journalists want their music systems? Up into the low 20's on the control and the music is loud and crisp with no distortion. Sat at around 15 is plenty loud enough for normal listening. Air con is fantastic, heated seats perfect, space great, boot is compact but sufficient, seats are comfortable, handling is out of this world for a high ground clearance car, all the toys work well, Eyesight system is superb. Fuel economy is around 40mpg so far, EV system around London was excellent this weekend and the thing I love the most is that I've only seen two other XV's so far! Cool Marque with a nice bit of exclusivity. Granted these are pretty early days, but so far very impressed and pleased with my purchase and looking forward to many happy miles in the Scooby. Off to Europe next week, so let's see how we handle autoroutes and cobbles!

Glad you like it, you missed out the best bit, heated seats, XV is the first car i've had thats had them hahaha

Hello and happy to say I pick up my new to me 3 year old Outback next week. Have done a fair bit of research since we decided to buy it. At the moment considering the benefits of putting all season tyres on it and advice on the best options would be great. We live in Scotland and had several 4X4 over the years but the outback will be our first car with 4 wheel drive. Thanks Dave

Sad thing is it really shows how bad subaru UK is/was when info like this shows up.

She has finally arrived from Singapore now 😎 2.0 GT-S with 48,500kms on the clock

Hurrah! The PIN Code from the dealer worked and the alarm / immobiliser was disabled. The problem with the alarm going off does persist however, if I re-arm the system. I think I will just use the key for a while and get used to that.. The other good news is that with the car starting again, I was able to drive to my local garage where she passed her MOT without a single advisory this morning! Thanks to Dales Automotive in Barnoldswick for supplying the code 🙂 I might update the thread if I can get to the bottom of this alarm problem...

Hi pete. U still got ghe forestets. I. From longbenton. Just recently got an auto

That's I've read while researching before my purchase too I think because I haven't owned an STi before so I do get a bit of the 'grass is greener on the other side' vibes. The blue will always be a desire for me though haha 😄

Did you swap the ecu? The imobiliser used to be linked with the ecu and the keys on the older models. so if the ecu was swapped the keys wont work the immobiliser. Could it be something like that?

Yeah the first one just tried to scam you, unless there was some other reason they said it needs a new gearbox. Could be idle control valve or possibly battery/alternator related, sounds daft, but on our XV when the battery was really low it kept stalling when loaded up by the power steering or dropping to idle.

Regarding the possible cause(s), I'd suggest you also post your issue on here, as they have a much wider experience of Subarus and OBs. https://www.subaruoutback.org/ Hope you get it sorted.

Welcome to sods law. It knew, i'm telling you it knew!!!!! lol At least no big bill for now I'd keep an eye on your oil level by checking it regularly just in case the sensor is on the way out and that nothing funky is going on

I used to do the swap annually on my Outback, but now I use Michelin Cross Climate, fully legal in the Swiss Alps all the year round.

Have you tired the usual importcarparts?

not sure why you should have issues finding one, they are just a typical car battery? have a look on https://www.yuasa.co.uk/ should be able to search for either make/model/engine or by reg number

Hi, I have just bought a 2001 JDM Impreza WRX STI

Bought a Field, not brand new but no regrets. Really nice car to drive did think about the premium however being a Scotsman didn't fancy the high road tax, but there again the memory seats would have been nice. Looking forward to lots of snow ❄️

Hey folks, hope it's okay to jump on and post here. Long time Subaru owner and all round fan, but sadly it's time to let my lovely Levorg STi go to a new home. I have listed the car on Piston Heads but will include the details here. Please reach out if you have any questions or are interested. --- This Levorg STi was imported on my behalf by Torque GT around 3 years ago. I have loved every second of ownership and unfortunately personal circumstances force a reluctant sale. It has carried me through a pretty tumultuous time in my life! Having previously owned an imported Legacy GT, I knew I wanted something of similar performance with a few more comforts. The Levorg STi delivered. To me this has been a modern, fairly luxurious car, whilst still turning heads and getting a few smiles from the missus out of twisty lanes. The car has just had a service in preparation for its next owner, and some small paint smart repairs alongside a polish. MOT until October. This is a very honest car. It had Michelin Cross Climates put on it last year and they still have plenty of tread, paired with the 300hp this puts out you're guaranteed to have a little fun. Packed tonne of features (and especially the Subaru Eyesight system which is fantastic), some I may forget to list: - Full red leather interior with electric moving front seats - Heated seats - Power folding mirrors - Blindspot detection in the mirrors - Automatic headlights, with automatic high-beam/dipping - Rain sensors and automatic wipers - Adaptive cruise control - Lane assist (a personal favourite) - Lane exit detection and warning - Dual climate control - Parking sensors and reverse camera - Keyless entry Get in touch via SMS or WhatsApp please 07827019317.

I recently spoke to a member of the sales staff at a UK Subaru dealership who informed me that as of the end of this year there will be no more new Subaru Outbacks (petrol) sold in the UK. There will be an electric option (yeah, well yipppeeee :( ). Don't you just adore the Great Global Climate Catastrophe Hoax supporters and their desperate ideological attempts to completely donald duck the whole car industry and empty fun and choice out of everyone'a lives . Now I'm not sure if I should try and time it so I buy one of the last ones, or just buy a Toyota Land cruiser (not the recent model!). Can't seem to see much else on the market that has above average car ground clearance, and permanent 4x4 functionality.

Much appreciate your opinion and insights Judd.

Its a 150 and nice one too without too many bells and whistles, personally i prefer cloth to leather. A 200 would have the V8 Diesel (the petrols listed are gery imports)and would typically be priced around that figure at 12 years old with 130k on the clock, lovely motor but for goodness sake. The one you've listed it would be interesting to know why its had 2 owners, might have been a demo, sometimes even the change of personal plate can come up as an ownership change, it looks in very good condition and unless something other than 2 owners is a cause for concern it would be one i'd be looking at, seems reasonably priced but there should be some room for wriggle in a private sale, in many ways i prefer a private sale because you get to see the previous owner and judge for yourself what the car has been through. After 2020 (from memory) they did various modifications to the engine, as you can see from one of the dash pics its got a manual DPF regen button which earlier models didn't get, though it shouldn't be needed because they've pretty well sorted earlier DPF issues by then, later ones like that 2022 model they've ironed out all the quirks. Remember the first place you go when looking at any LC underneath, that one looks clean enough to eat your dinner off any surface, it might be worth asking the seller if he'll take some random pics from underneath to send to you. 3ish years old, keep it serviced at Toyota you've got another 6 or 7 years makers warranty on all the important bits. Get your overalls on and get rustproofing you could have this or similar for umpteen years with only regular servicing and friction materials/tyre replacement (tyres are big and usually last between 40 and 50k) and when you decide to sell on LC enthusiasts will be beating a path to your door if its a genuine rust free example, the very high spec models tend to come with rear air suspension, which is great while it works but with the height sensors underneath unless you keep them protected can fail expensively,also the air pump isn't cheap, many high spec vehicles are retro fitted with steel springs and appropriate shocks via a kit as they age.

Thanks for that info Judd and I will check out the forums too. I've been looking at something a bit like this one https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505052055417?sort=price-desc&searchId=3ad54a54-2151-4185-8be2-d501efa62a98&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Diesel&make=Toyota&maximum-mileage=60000&model=Land Cruiser&page=4&postcode=DL12 0QY&year-from=2020&year-to=2024&fromsra Is that the 150 or 200 series? I'd not go for that one (too many owners for the age and it's a private sale, etc.) , just using it as an example. The invincible models seems to attract a hefty mark up - worth it? (I hope you're going to say no :) ) More choice with the Active trim too. Hardly any Icons trims. I like the utility version, but I don't think I'd convince my partner, with just 2 seats, as she's super sociable !

An update of the issue with AT Oil Temp light flashing after AT Speed Sensor being replaced. End up I found a garage who helped me clear the signal, and that's rather humiliating - it just need to lift the car up and run computer diagnosis for the car to learn the new sensor. According to the garage, all 4 wheels has to be able to run without weight for the car to reset. It means the previous mechanic who helped me replace the faulty AT Speed Sensor in fact did he work neatly, but then because he did that only on a pair of service ramp at my driveway, he's unable to lift the whole car up to run the reset. But then either he doesn't know the trick or he purposefully kept silent as he doesn't have a car lift anyway.

Finally, I've managed to fix the mobile not connecting issue. It turns out that the upper USB port had been abused by the previous owner so it didn't hold the cable succurely resulting in the map app on the phone disconnecting all the time. Fixed it with a good quality USB A to C cable and using the unused lower USB socket (under the display unit) instead.

Not had my Outback that long. It is a 2021 petrol, bought after a 2017 diesel Outback had emission sensor problems. I have had battery charging and mysterious headlight warning issues - see my earlier posts, but I do not think that is common. Although there are plenty of threads out there about batteries draining flat if you go down that rabbit hole. Mpg is about mid thirties with careful driving. Have had 42mpg on a long journey - a quiet M74 run to Glasgow on cruise control set at 60-65mph. Otherwise low 30’s. And lower if you use all 175 ponies. I like the car. Good luck. Frank

As long as you arnt ripping off members its all good 🙂

Morning, thanks for your feedback. When I get an opportunity, I'll investigate both options. The noise from the glove box occurs full or empty (mind you I do find the size of the glove box quite small compared to the previous model and other cars!) Cheers, Allan

TBH subaru has never been a big seller in the uk, they arn't exactly customer focused like most other brands, my parents just picked up their brand new crosstrek a few weeks back and the choice's they had to make to select it were very limited, limited colour availability even from the very small options lisy, only 2 trim levels (which is basicly cloth and no sunroof or leather seats and sunroof) and only cvt gearbox creates a very limited customer base. Don't get me wrong, the crosstrek is a very nice car, its just from a customer experiance its you get what you get.

I had a Legacy BP5 but sold that last year, ended going for a STI hatch but feel like I should have gone for one of these! Do miss the space

It has to be 5x114.3 stud pattern or it won't fit. You'll need to check the centre bore and offset - standard levorg numbers are 56.1 centre bore and 55 offset

New rear subframe with all new arms, bolts and hubs almost ready to transplant into the car, that will hack the mot tester of as he won’t be able to rust rear subframe comments anymore!

Got it to Pass today while it was hot. Thanks

Sold now - hope you had a great journey home!

Aftermarket quality in suspension parts is a major concern . It also a major safety factor and impacts driving/performing quality of vehicle . ICP aftermarket part quality is a bit hit and miss as they not as fussy as use to be and the aftermarket manufacturing quality is down the toilet these days even on previous well rated major car part brands . So if buying from ICP you wise call them and ask what brand/manufacturer the part is rather than assuming it good . What I do on these if the original arm is not seriously rusted is fit new bushes and new genuine subaru ball joint too. We get the original balljoints for example for about 16 quid so it not worth buying aftermarket to save few quid on a part that serious safety component and needs be proper quality have half a chance of decent service life . For complete arm you could look at ACKOJA, they made in Korea by OEM's for car parts so quality not the worst . MOOG is another option for suspension parts that not the worst . We have to deal with this poor quality part concern every day and aftermarket part quality is the biggest problem we face today, takes lot of knowledge and time keep on top of what good/bad and price effective, you also always getting customers wondering why part bill what it is when they could of got it off eBay or Amazon for 3rd of the cost lol . Lot of the cheap parts are trash straight out the box and either don't fit, fit/function poorly or pretty much failed in 12 to 18 months ... Buy wisely and refurbish original parts when possible .

Thanks Samwell , the dealer managed to get some for me

I've taken all of my cars to them for years. Chris, Paul and Scott - you couldn't wish for better people to look after your cars. My soon to arrive Levorg will be going there next month

I've always had to slam the tailgate door down hard for the latch to catch closed - found the weatherstrip that runs along the bottom was not seated properly a while ago but even after putting that right it wasn't much better. A crack even started to appear in the plastic bumper cover under the o/s tail light with all the slamming down. Found that when I open the tailgate - if I hold the release button in for longer (3 to 5 seconds) it closes much better with a lot less force. Hope this helps anyone with the same problem - just have to fix the crack now 🙂

Sometimes it the wiring broken at transition flex point to the boot lid . Can't beat the old mechanical handle, mine 25 years old and works same as when come out of factory . The sensor switch boot releases are complete garbage, nothing but hassle and expense, lot of models get water ingress into the switch board (big problems on multi function module/boards that canbus integrated). On some model cars where this incorporates into reverse camera & perhaps even rear wiper all in one the problems caused and cost to resolve gets silly. when linked into canbus networks can completely disable the vehicle and it needs flatbed recovery. Very rare I get to do a diag/repair bill under £300 for resolving this electronic garbage faults, 400 to £800 don't go far sorting this p155 poor engineering concept & low cost component choice of the vehicle manufacturers . No make regardless of prestige/price are exempt from this ... Basically the newer you go the worse it getting in terms of reliability and cost to repair faults . New cars environmental benefits would seem be none judging by the parts bins and service chemical consumption increase I getting . Since Hybrids I do battery recycling by the pallet monthly through winter, pretty much 3 times the battery waste I got pre Hybrid . Cleaner numbers out tailpipe but everywhere else it much worse !

Hello Brack, No, the key fob doesn't deactivate the alarm or unlock the car. I have the original PIN now from a local Subaru dealer, so will give that a go in the morning. I have the alarm instruction booklet so will follow the guidance on page 10 as you say - as long as someone hasn't changed the PIN somewhere along the way - it is a 15 year old car I suppose! Report to follow 🙂

It looked narrow, you had a sensible speed .. nice video.

I received an email today entitled 'Subaru Map Update Portal' informing me that a update was available for my Outback. After checking it through my virus checker etc. I clicked on the link and was taken to the Portal where I had to register and was then sent an activation code. After eventually getting the code and inputting it, to be told I again needed an activation code but when I put that new code in I was then further informed my account was already activated (you're getting the gist of this right!). I realised this wasn't going to be straightforward. Any road, eventually I got an account set up and logged in the vehicle with its VIN - all well again. Then I had to download the map installation system (more shenanigans), but eventually done. The page helpfully (not!) in formed me that Starlink was no longer in use since 2023 (I'd not bothered anyway as it was useless), it then proceeded simply to offer me more opportunities to download the map installer - again, with no way forward. The map installer is for OS X (my laptop) so it should have worked - it didn't. Route two: checked the online manual on the page and saw there was a mobile phone route. Ah ha! Phone put and I got to the page www.subaru-maps.com, and logged in, I had again to download the map installer, but was only given the option of OS X version or Windows - so no ios then! Urgh. Getting more and more frustrated, I went to the 'contact us' link and scrolled down to the UK link and clicked, to be taken to UK Subaru page https://subaru.co.uk/customer-support where I was informed by 'customer support' "sorry - page no longer exists'! What a complete waste of time and sadly simply reinforces the image of Subaru technology being all froth and little substance. Rant over - so back to the my padded cell...!

On a similar theme, I was in my local Subaru dealer this morning and saw a new sign encouraging me to update my details on the Subaru website so I would always receive special offers, latest news etc. I scanned the QR code on the sign only to find it sent me to the same “Sorry - page no longer exists”……..

My only experience of driving an e-boxer forester was two years ago as a courtesy car while my OB was being serviced. The Forester had less than 200 miles on the clock and it was the black 'sports' (?) version. First impressions (sitting in it) was that it seemed very comfortable and light. However, driving it was not pleasant. It was really slow, tank like, when accelerating from junctions and when pulling away at roundabouts when you wanted to join the flow of traffic. Noticeable slower than the OB. The member of staff I spoke to afterwards also agreed that they found the OB a much more pleasant drive. The stats state: Forester 0 - 62 11.8 secs Outback 0 - 62 10.8 secs. Neither are speedy cars of course, but the Forester was a sloth - that 1 sec difference was marked. Having said that, you do see them out and about so perhaps their owners are very content. Another negative, for me, is that the mpg for the OB is 32.8 while for the Forester it's still just 34.7 mpg. Hardly a great saving. Must be those heavy batteries. Plus you have a smaller fuel tank (48 litres vs 63 litres) in the Forester due to the batteries, so you get hardly much better mpg and you have a much reduced range. So if you're prepared to go slower and have to fill up more often on longer journeys...! Another big negative for me, is that you can't fit a spare wheel in the Forester (again because of the batteries). No car can pretend to offer aspirations of off-road capabilities if a spare isn't available. Overall I think the Forester looks the biz, but unless they offer a none hybrid and also either at least a 2.5 litre engine, or a turbo option, it's not for me. It'll be interesting to see how you find the Forester after the legacy for driving experience.

Thanks all for your input - sorry to hear about your issues @Justin Time - will keep a close eye on brake issues after this! and thanks @Hippo for the vote of confidence So I pulled the trigger on a low milage 2021 gen 5 which I picked up last week - I have to say I am absolutely loving it, and feel that I have absolutely made the right choice stepping into the Subaru club….after a week of driving even more perplexed by how much they get such middling reviews in the press….I’m not used to driving particularly fast cars, but it certainly feels more than punchy enough…it doesn’t particularly feel much slower in the real world than my wife’s xc40 which does 0-60 in sub-8.0 seconds.. aside from that great comfort, ridiculous amounts of space, and imo great sharp handling for such a big car (came with Michelin cross climates which might help) one happy buyer here!

Helensburgh Toyota no longer have the Subaru franchise and no longer does warranty work for Subaru.

Corrosion is number one thing look out for on these, surface rust is going be the norm and that can be surface treated, heavy corrosion can get quite expensive and if it not localised rust you be chasing you tail for no long term benefit . Also don't think newer means better, late 90's to 2002 era about some of best made . Do good checks using MOT history and good visual inspection and that means a real good long look and poke around underneath, rust doesn't always show itself but steel can be rotted and collapse under physical inspection . Is fairly easy find these pretty clean and not many keen on larger engines so prices can be low/easy haggle . I would be more sceptical of dealer sales than private and that comes from 30 years trade experience lol, 99% of the good stuff comes private sales, biggest ballache and pork pies always dealers .

M30 alarm document link > https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Ub2apq5-pfcjJhSm5XUHNyUzQ/view?usp=sharing

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